Jim Ingraham: Francona's next decision -- Who's the Indians' closer?

Minnesota Twins' Josmil Pinto rounds the bases on a two-run home run off Cleveland Indians pitcher Chris Perez, right, in the ninth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, in Minneapolis. The Indians won 6-5. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Yes, they are playing the bums. But, yes, they are beating the bums. You can only beat who you play.
So the Indians, who survived another horrific outing by crumbling closer Chris Perez, are beating them all, including the Minnesota Twins, who were beaten, 6-5, by the Fighting Franconas on Thursday night in what is becoming a September to remember for the Indians — closerless, though they may be.
Perez was awful again. Brought into a seemingly safe situation, the Indians leading 6-1 in the top of the ninth, Perez immediately turned it into a raging, four-alarm fire. In the space of six batters, he gave up two singles, a triple and a two-run home run. In the blink of an eye, 6-1 became 6-5.
Joe Smith finally finished it, but Perez may be finished, period.
Assuming none of them are blowouts, there is no way Perez should pitch in the Indians’ last three games.
In his last two appearances, he has a 40.51 ERA and opposing batters are hitting .636 against him (7-for-11), including a triple and three home runs.
Asked after the game if Perez would remain the closer, Manager Terry Francona, after admitting, “That was a little nerve wracking,” sounded like a manager ready to make a change.
“In a situation like this, you never make a decision five minutes after the game,” he told reporters in Minneapolis. “We’ll figure it out.”
Translation: The Indians are changing closers with three games left in the season.
But the way they are playing, they might be able to pull it off.
Through the first 26 days of this month, with every game, every inning, at times every pitch having huge playoff implications, the Indians, Perez excepted, are playing their best baseball of the season.
How’s this for a final push? They are 18-6 in September. That’s the best record in the major leagues in September. It’s like they have a whole roster filled with Mr. Septembers.
They’ve won 18 of 24 games this month. Last year they only won 17 games in August and September combined.
Sure, there have been a lot of bums in the bunch — and the Indians have kicked them all to the curb. Outta the way, chumps! Against the Mets, White Sox, Astros and Twins the Indians this month are 13-1.
But they’ve also beaten the good teams. Against the Central Division champion Tigers and the Orioles, who were in the wild-card hunt until just a couple of days ago, the Indians this month were 5-1.
They’re just beating everybody.
And everybody loves Tito. Francona is conducting this September symphony of slap-downs like Arthur Fiedler. This is go-for-the-jugular jockeying at his finest.
Thursday night, Zach McAllister was working on a shutout in the fifth inning — and Francona took him out of the game! That will teach Big Mac not to let a couple guys reach base.
It didn’t matter that McAllister hadn’t given up any runs. It didn’t matter that McAllister was two outs away from qualifying for the win. It didn’t matter that these were the cupcake-ian Minnesota Twins, losers of 93 games.
Francona didn’t like the cut of McAllister’s pitching jib, so it was time to sack Zach. It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s business.
Francona is in the business of winning, and his team has done that better than any team in the majors this month. They are 18-6 in September, a mere 13 months after going 5-24 in August of last season.
Francona is leading the charge, playing every game like it’s the seventh game of the World Series — or the best-of-one wild-card game. All of which each and every one of these games are.
It’s September. It’s big-boy baseball time, and the Indians have been big boys this month, rising to the challenge of winning a game that day, then forgetting about it and coming back the next day and winning again.
The day after that? Same deal.
Because this thing is still not settled. The Indians are 18-6, the best record in the majors in September. They have won seven in a row and 12 of their last 14 — but it still might not be enough.
They have three games left, and they might have to win them all. The way they are playing they could win them all.
The biggest problem now, for the last three games, and any postseason games, is the bullpen is in chaos. That’s what happens when your closer crumbles.
Francona’s options at closer are probably Joe Smith, Justin Masterson, and Cody Allen.
A wild finish is getting even wilder, and if the Indians do make it, would Perez even be on their 25-man postseason roster?